TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Production Studio
-- The real monitor thread......
Pages (3): [1] 2 3 »

The real monitor thread......

OK, before you all singe me to within an inch of my life, I'm actually trying to get a thread going that truly bridges the issue of decent monitors, from people that actually own them (you lot) and what your experience is of YOUR monitors for EDM use.

Basically it would be nice if you could post a couple of pro's, cons and a mini summary (based on performance vs price vs build etc.) of the monitors you own. Please don't just post what you read in SOS or Gearslutz - I'm trying to make it specific for what do by the people that do it....

from the post your studiopics thread im curious about the barefoot ones eventhough i know they are overkill for edm. most high-end monitors probably are but id love to hear some about adams, genelecs, dynaudios etc. im thinking about getting midfields or mains next time in a big ass room lol. oh yeah and the k&h o300 looks awesome too. compact and easy to place.

edit: and your focals ofcourse.

Nice idea Rann

i got dynaudio bm12a's and they are sweet

these looks mental. the bass reminds me of the Cerwin Vega Stroker which i had in my car back in the day. Sick shit.

Anything that these guys sell is a sure bet ... they have very high standards : http://www.mercenary.com/speak.html

You're trying to accomplish the impossible. When it comes to high end monitors it's very much all about personal preferences and room acoustics, otherwise they're all great and I'll be happy to mix on any of them. You're not gonna find many people who have actually mixed on tens of different high end nearfields for a long time in the same room to give you the answer you're looking for, but even if you find such a person his answer would still be only good for himself as you might not like what he likes, not to mention chances are if you find this magical person he is probably a pro audio dealer who wants to sell more of his brand. As for the price/performance ratio everything changed when Focal came up with the twins, if you can't mix with those then I'm not sure how any other monitor will change that. If you're looking for a solid low end then add a high end sub and add more bass traps, there is a good reason why all top producers who make very well produced tunes have a sub in their studio, no nearfield is going to reproduce those subsonic frequencies you hear in the club and setting a monitor to go way too low is also not the smartest idea specially if the monitor doesn't have multiple drivers. Bottom line if you want high end monitors, look for the best deal on a pair of used monitors locally and just go for it without thinking twice. I actually just did that and ended up with the O300s although I was and still am looking for Adams S series. Even if you don't buy them locally which mean you can't listen to them it doesn't matter as long as you're getting the best deal for the money.

If I was on tighter budget I would go for a higher end 5-6 inches monitor and add a good sub, You can put together an accurate 2.1 system for more or less than $2000.

quote:

Originally posted by spolitta You're trying to accomplish the impossible. When it comes to high end monitors it's very much all about personal preferences and room acoustics

No, because that's exactly what I'm looking for! Personal opinion from the producers here that we all know, for our specific use!

Looking at the studiopics thread, there are a lot of people on here have decent to sometimes great setups, so hearing from them as to what they personally think would be useful to everyone.

For instance, you have K&H and I doubt you've set them up in your cupboard with eggboxes as acoustic treatment....so give a us a few pros and cons with a summary of how you find them!

Alanzo - you've got focals(?), I know there's been a great review by Eric J but a quick summary by you or him would still be very useful for reference.

I really was hoping to get mini reviews of everything from KRK's, Truths, Mackies, Adams, focals, JBL's, etc.

Finally Palm, I've used the MB2SA quite a bit in the studio.



Pros:
amazing bass response
Incredibly clear mids and highs
No scoops in frequencies
Amazing stereo image, large sweet spot, without being too broad as to mislead.
Cons:
They are fucking huge (over 3 foot high)
You need a huge room to stop the bass driver booming in the space.
They weigh a ton and you need structured supports to hold them and proper decouplers too (monitor stands won't cut it).
A very small number of people (only studio musicians) in the sessions found them too dead, meaning they didn't feel like they were complimentary from a purely musical standpoint (I felt it was because they exposed every flaw).

Summary: Possibly some of the best monitors I've ever heard, especially from and engineering point of view but forget it unless you have a seriously large control room and suitable professional acoustics, not mention wallet (at $12,000 a pair second hand!!).

quote:

Originally posted by palm these looks mental. the bass reminds me of the Cerwin Vega Stroker which i had in my car back in the day. Sick shit.

Those look Dethklok brutal!









12K + or not, those would be awesome for my apartment

i got hr824's, and one of my favorite tracks on my altec lansing hifi speakers and in my car sounds like shit on them.. like really uber shit, the kick is just turned into an ear piercing midrange ear rape. it's crazy to me to think about, how if that producer had been using these, that track probably would never of been created.

Too much low-mids, not enough bass, but then again i don't have the HRS-120 sub that goes with them..

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN Alanzo - you've got focals(?), I know there's been a great review by Eric J but a quick summary by you or him would still be very useful for reference.

Yep, same ones as Eric J. They're great. I've done about three tracks on them now ... all "years" better than what came before the monitor upgrade. If you can't make a great track on the Focal Twin 6 BEs, you can't make a great track.

I vote for the Event TR8s! Overall I am very pleased with the sound quality they offer (I could perhaps use a little more sparkle in the high end but like I said they sound great).

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cenik I vote for the Event TR8s!

I think you missed the point ...

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo I think you missed the point ...

I take it we're talking about top-of-the-line monitors then? My apologies

Brand: Sony SS-MB300H

Pros: Detachable fuzzy screen; expertly hand-crafted in some huge sweaty factory in China; can drop them from 12 feet without compromising audio performance.

Cons: Bass notes sound like a rhinoceros with its genitals caught in a trash compactor. Treble notes sound like a rhinoceros with its genitals caught in a trash compactor, on fast-forward.

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cenik I take it we're talking about top-of-the-line monitors then? My apologies

No - not top of the line - just how you find YOUR monitors. A couple of pros and cons about them, with a summary - not your vote as such.

Post what you think about your monitors, what you like, what you don't - that's it.

Thanks for the "creative" input Diginut - The only thing is, I don't think you're actually joking in your analysis

had behringer truths. sounded very distant and scooped. ie) very disco smily

then got maudio bx8s. sounds amazing and pleasant to work with. but too big for my room. bass just engulfs the mix and had sorta like a puffy limiter effect on the sound. came out.. sorta.. lacked dynamics.

then got rokit krk rp6. not a fan. muffled. no high end presence. and mid range was very punchy tho and good bass... punchy as in synths and high kicks sorta popped out like 3d. wierd.

then upgraded to mackie hr624. quite possibly the best monitors ive listened to on. just perfect middle ground from all the previous monitors ive owned and well balanced and detailed sound.


friend has alesis m1 mk2. sounds very similar to mackies.. just a lil brighter and narrower stereo field and not enough sub bass. but similar sound characteristics/personality.

question: yamaha hs80m or mackie hr624

mackie .. easy.

yamaha hs (or the ns) is really mainly pop music/rock music monitors. because its "truly" flat and has a transparent sound (which is all great by the text book but when it comes to actually producing club music.. doesnt help much.) our ears over time has gotten sorta used to a lil bit "hyped" spectrum and naturally well mix that way...

actually. how the yamaha's got really popular was a really popular audio engineer back in the day used to make amazing top 40 mixes. like really cream of the crop.
and when word got around that he used yamaha's.. everyone started to use them and they sorta became an unwritten industry standard... not because they were so great but merely because so many people were using them that the mixes translated really well in each other studios...

something to think about. to each their own tho.

ah shit, i've been thinking about getting hs80m's for months. guess i'll be doing more research on the mackie hr624

thanks buddeh

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN No - not top of the line - just how you find YOUR monitors.

Well the TR8s are my monitors I've owned them for about 1.5 yrs now; I listen to them for hours nearly every day.

Some pros:
-the price (around $750 CDN (when I bought them))
-the look (simple and sleek)
-the clarity (as far as I can tell, they do not colour the sound)
-the sub-bass (they do a good job of reproducing very low frequencies sounds, although you have to train your ears to recognize how the sub-bass sounds on them)

Some cons:
-they could use a little more presence in the high end

Altec Lansing Quad Computer Speakers with Sub:

Pros: Delivers room filling sound and can be ruthlessly honest. They can absolutely create hatred for MySpace Player streams and utter disdain for YouTube. Very robust sound and good mixes sound absolutely stunning. Sturdy and can take a nasty over-amplified sound without flinching.

Cons: Low end can be too present in a mix and still sound reasonable. Not designed for music production.

Sony MDR-700s:

Pros: Nice general reference sound with clarity for mids and highs and a general bass response. Good for ensuring mix continuity between monitors, as they tend to amplify/mute certain frequencies that are either masked or amplified using monitors, alone. Sturdy.

Cons: Nice general reference sound with clarity for mids and highs and a general bass response. Lacks precision. Not meant for producing music.


Yes - it's ghetto.

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cenik Well the TR8s are my monitors I've owned them for about 1.5 yrs now; I listen to them for hours nearly every day. Some pros: -the price (around $750 CDN (when I bought them)) -the look (simple and sleek) -the clarity (as far as I can tell, they do not colour the sound) -the sub-bass (they do a good job of reproducing very low frequencies sounds, although you have to train your ears to recognize how the sub-bass sounds on them) Some cons: -they could use a little more presence in the high end

I have the event TR6s and they are really great. Came close to the dynaudio BM12as

quote:

Originally posted by EddieZilker They can absolutely create hatred for MySpace Player streams and utter disdain for YouTube.

Going pretty off-topic, but I wonder whether listening to low quality audio so much, plus the awful overcompression on lots of music, is causing people to care less about the quality of what they hear.

Sometimes it seems like people these days care more about simply having lots of stuff than they do about the actual quality of the stuff.

This is more for newbies or people on a budget

I've got a pair of Alesis Monitor 1 MK II

Pros

Excellent value for Money (�100 or less)
Excellent sound quality and great frequency range

Cons
Lacks Bass - so all my mixes sound far too basy when played on other sound systems.

In summary. I would say perfect if you are looking to get your first set of "Monitors" when I got these I could hear parts of songs that I had never heard before..the ragne of frequencies and the clarity is verything you want when getting your first pair!!

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.